Passionate Obama demands gun reform

PRESIDENT Barack Obama says Americans should be ashamed if the pain of the Newtown school shooting three months ago has ebbed to such an extent that gun reform efforts are fading.

"Tears aren't enough, expressions of sympathy aren't enough, speeches aren't enough," Obama said, in a passionate speech at the White House surrounded by relatives of gun violence victims.

"Now is the time to turn that heartbreak into something real," Obama said, three months after 20 children and six teachers and caregivers were gunned down in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

The president held his event amid indications the tidal wave of national grief that prompted promises of action on greater gun control after the massacre in December was fading.

"I want to make sure every American is listening today," said Obama, bristling with anger after saying he had read a report that questioned whether Washington had gone soft on reform efforts as the horror of Newtown fades.

"Less than 100 days ago that happened. The entire country was shocked, the entire country pledged we would do something about it and this time it would be different," he said.

"Shame on us if we have forgotten. I haven't forgotten those kids. Shame on us if we have forgotten."

Top Democrats in Congress have said there is not sufficient support for some measures proposed by Obama, including a reinstatement of an assault weapons ban.

The legislative fight is now surrounding White House plans to close loopholes in background checks designed to ensure mentally unstable people and criminals cannot get guns.

Obama also hopes to enact new laws clamping down on gun trafficking and providing more help to secure America's schools.

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Who cares that Jesus died?

Chocolate and Jesus - is Easter about both? Pictures: Thinkstock Source: Supplied

The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen spoke to news.com.au about Easter. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

WE'VE just ordained a new Catholic Pope and Hillsong United's 60th album Zion topped the Aussie music charts just over two weeks ago. But when it comes to Easter, is Jesus on our minds?

Considering Australians are set to spend $185.7 million on Easter eggs this year - that's up 5.2 per cent from last year - is Easter still about Jesus dying so that we can live, or is it now about time with family, a long weekend and copious amounts of chocolate?

"Oh look, these things are an expression of joy, and just like Christmas, it's totally understandable people want to celebrate in this way. And it makes sense - the Easter message brings hope and joy," Peter Jensen, the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney told news.com.au.

"What I would like to see is people enjoying the fun, but knowing the reason for the fun, and therefore getting to the heart of what God's done for us.

"Easter is about the basics of human life. It's about forgiveness, and all relationships need forgiveness. When Jesus died on the cross, he established forgiveness between God and humans," he said.

"The other big thing it's about is death, and what happens when we die. Who doesn't think about that? Jesus' resurrection from the dead tells us that there is hope, that we will live on beyond the grave, and we can live life in expectation of great things."

But what about the average Aussie - do they still associate Easter with the Christian message?

"For sure we associate it with Jesus, he's the reason we celebrate," says Rachael Garth, a mum of two.

"It's vitally important people know that - as the world becomes more materialistic, the reason for such seasons are becoming lost, which is tragic. It's not discussed in schools anymore and the younger generation are forgetting what it means."

News.com.au reader Melissa Khalinsky agrees: "For me, it's important to teach my children about why we celebrate Easter and that it's not just about chocolate and rabbits - the same way I teach them that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus and not about Santa."

Another reader, Ursula Zajaczkowski, says despite growing up in a very strict Catholic family there is no way she is going to push the beliefs on her children.

"I grew up in private Catholic schools all the way with church every Sunday and prayers said (as a family) every night," she said.

"I haven't gone to church regularly since I left home 20 years ago. I now have a young family - a three-year-old and a six-year-old - and although I talk to them about what Easter and Christmas really mean, in the Catholic sense, I am in no way about to drum it into their heads.

"I want them to choose the best way of thinking about it. As such, we don't celebrate Easter in the traditional sense; I can't even remember when I'm supposed to fast or start eating fish on Fridays!

"In short, we associate Easter with new life, which really, is what it's about, religious or not."

Although 22.3 per cent of Australians marked on the 2011 Census that they have 'No Religion' - that's up four per cent from the previous Census - the Census also showed that 61.1 per cent of Australians identify as Christian, a decline of two per cent.

"There's certainly still a lot of residual Christian belief in the community, and that shows itself at Easter and Christmas with significant increases in church attendance," says the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Dr Jensen.

"To celebrate each year - and it's one of the few events in all of human history that is celebrated every year - is a very powerful reminder that the Christian message is a historical one, found right there in the dirt and muck of the world."

He understands why people struggle to believe that Jesus rose from the dead - as Catholics believe happened on Easter Sunday.

"History doesn't deny that Jesus was a man, but I understand why people struggle to believe that he rose from the dead - even the disciples struggled with this one, because it turns all human experience on its head. But I think people are looking for something deeper and truer than what the world provides, and it's a testimony to a longing for God. Just to have the chocolates and all the rest, which I love, but not to have the reason for it, is really strange.

"I think that what Easter really does is turn the light on. It lets you see the world for what it really is, in brilliant colour." 

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Cambodia court rules Pol Pot's deputy fit

CAMBODIA'S war crimes court ruled that Pol Pot's former deputy Nuon Chea was fit to continue standing trial after the death of a co-defendant renewed fears that the elderly accused may not live to see verdicts.

"The accused Nuon Chea is fit to stand trial," Judge Nil Nonn said at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge war crimes court on Friday after speaking with medical experts.

Despite the defendant's "advancing age and frailty", he said, he "remains capable of meaningful participation in his own defence".

Nuon Chea, 86, the most senior surviving leader of the genocidal communist regime which oversaw the "Killing Fields" era in the late 1970s, did not attend the hearing due to poor health, a clerk told the court.

He is on trial with former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan, 81, over war crimes and genocide charges.

They include the forced movement of people - a policy of the brutal regime which emptied Cambodia's cities - and the execution of up to 3,000 former military officers found in mass graves in western Cambodia.

The pair deny charges.

The death on March 14 of regime co-founder Ieng Sary at the age of 87 intensified fears that the surviving pair may also die before verdicts can be reached in their trial, which began in June 2011.

Ieng Sary's widow Ieng Thirith, the regime's former social affairs minister, was freed in September after being deemed unfit for trial due to dementia.

Nuon Chea has suffered a number of illnesses, including high blood pressure, acute bronchitis and heart disease, prompting his defence team to argue that their client was too weak to stand trial.

The tribunal has been dogged by funding shortages since it was set up in 2006 and was hit by a strike by local staff earlier this month over unpaid wages.

Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge from 1975-79 wiped out nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population through starvation, overwork or execution in a bid to create an agrarian utopia.

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Families devastated by city wall deaths

Thu 28/03/2013: A man and a woman are dead after a brick wall collapsed at the Grocon site

A YOUNG woman is fighting for her life in hospital and two other people are dead after a heritage-listed brick wall collapsed on a busy city street.

The 19-year-old woman remains in a critical condition after surgery at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

The State Coroner is investigating the deaths of a 19-year-old male from Montmorency in Melbourne's northeast, and a woman aged in her 30s.

Strong winds swept through Melbourne yesterday, and one freak gust of up to 100km/h just before 3pm made the 3m wall fall onto the victims.

The scene in Swanston St, Carlton, was described as being like a battleground as frantic passers-by scrambled to free victims.

Premier Denis Napthine last night offered sympathy to the victims' families.

Police said they had tragically been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The historic wall was part of the former CUB brewery, opened in 1858, which building giant Grocon is developing into apartments.

Emergency crews after the collapse. Picture: Mati Safi/Twitter

The wall was in Swanston St, between Queensberry and Victoria streets.

Debris was strewn across the footpath, opposite a tram stop frequently used by students from a nearby RMIT University building.

Jonathan Lian, a university student, said: "There was a huge thunderclap. "It was really, really loud, and people were rushing about in all different directions."

He said there were about three or four people near the wall when it fell.

"One guy barely got away," he said.

The brick wall had been reinforced by a wooden hoarding.

Pesestrians rush to help people caught under the horror wall collapse. Picture: Jonathan Lian/Twitter

But the wall and the timber collapsed under strong winds that, according to the weather bureau's Melbourne station, peaked at 57km/h at 3pm.

CFMEU state secretary John Setka said he was among union members who helped lift a wooden hoarding off the victims.

A man and a woman were near each other, and another woman was farther away, he said.

He said the CFMEU first-aid staff helped treat the survivor until ambulance officers and firefighters arrived.

The other man and woman appeared to have died instantly, he said.

"Maybe it was just a freak gust of wind and three poor kids happened to be there," Mr Setka said.

Jim Olssen of Carlton, 83, was on a tram going down Swanston St as the wall fell.

"The gusts of wind were very strong," he said.

Swanston St resident and RMIT student Lip Hyean, 23, said: "Many students walk past this wall every day. It's a popular route."

The owner of El Pronto Cafe, Natasha Weiss, 21, was making coffee when the wall collapsed.

"I saw the wall crumble like breadcrumbs from the top down, and fall on a group of people. You could see the panic on everyone's faces by the way they were throwing bricks away," she said.

An aerial shot of the Melbourne CBD wall collapse. Picture: Fred Zhang

Police acting inspector Ian Lindsay said no work was going on at the building site when the wall fell.

"It's a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.

"We're unable to identify the pedestrians at the moment, and we believe strong wind gusts made the wall collapse."

Dr Napthine said: "Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the deceased. Our best wishes go to the woman fighting for her life. This is a terrible tragedy."

The brewery has been vacant for more than two decades.

Building inspectors survey the damage at the site of the collapse. Picture: Mark Dadswell

Grocon is creating a $1 billion development of 1500 apartments in three high-rise towers and a major shopping precinct.

But two historic walls at the brewery, which closed in 1987, were protected under heritage rules and so were being incorporated into the development.

Grocon deputy chief Carolyn Viney said it would run its own investigation.

"We extend our sympathies to the families of those killed and to the person injured, and we also thank those who worked at the scene to assist in trying to rescue them," she said.

"This is a terrible tragedy for all concerned."

Picture: Mark Dadswell

RMIT said in a tweet: "Our hearts go out to the victims of the wall collapse in Swanston St at the Grocon site."

The university said counselling would be offered to students if they required help.

WorkSafe was investigating the accident.

stephen.drill@news.com.au 

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Woodside's $30bn gas hub gets go-ahead

TRADITIONAL owners in the Kimberley have signed off on a major consent agreement with Woodside Petroleum and the West Australian government for a $30 billion gas hub north of Broome.

Premier Colin Barnett said at the signing at Parliament House in Perth today that it was an "absolute milestone" in the history of Aboriginal and wider relations in Australia.

He said it was "an historic roll of the dice" for Kimberley Aboriginal communities following exhaustive and often emotional negotiations and it had to succeed.

The liquified natural gas project, to process gas from the Browse Basin off the Kimberley coast, is to be built at James Price Point about 60km north of Broome.

Kimberley Land Council chief negotiator Wayne Bergmann said the deal was about creating life-changing economic opportunities for future indigenous generations in the Kimberley.

Woodside chief executive officer Peter Coleman said the agreement produced certainty for the Browse gas development and benefits would start flowing immediately to indigenous communities.

Under the agreement, $1.5 billion in benefits are expected to flow to indigenous communities in the Kimberley over 30 years.

Mr Barnett told reporters after signing that protesters who continue to blockade access to the James Price Point site were "standing in the way of Aboriginal people" and would not be allowed to continue their blockage tactics.

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Dollar hits 26-year high against pound

THE Australian dollar surged to a 26-year high against the pound, as fears of a Greek default subsided following a successful vote on a key austerity package.

The local currency rallied to 66.68 pence today, the highest level since 1985, before falling back slightly to 66.65 pence.

Against the US dollar the Australian dollar rose to a three-week high 107.46 cents and at 12pm (AEST), the Australian dollar was trading at 107.03 US cents, up from 105.85 cents yesterday.

The Australian dollar also rose against the euro and yen.

Greek politicians voted overnight for a package to slash 28.4 billion euros ($A38.9 billion) from government spending by 2015, in the first stage of a two-part vote aimed at unlocking emergency finance from the EU and the IMF. The second vote is on Thursday.

CMC foreign exchange dealer Tim Waterer said the Australian dollar was one of the strongest performing currencies, after risk sentiment recovered following the encouraging news from Greece.

"(It was) a pretty remarkable rebound, really, when you look at the course of events this week," Mr Waterer said.

"It's pushed two US cents higher in the last 36 hours and it's three cents higher than its 104 (US cents) low earlier in the week."

Mr Waterer said the Australian dollar did not react to the two pieces of data that were released on Thursday.

Total credit provided to the private sector by banks and other lenders rose 0.3 per cent in May, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the number of job vacancies in Australia had fallen 4.5 per cent in the three months to May.

Mr Waterer said the focus may shift to local economic data next week, when the central bank meets on Tuesday for its monthly monetary policy meeting.

The Reserve Bank has kept the cash rate at 4.75 per cent since November last year and is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged in July.

"That will be very closely monitored," Mr Waterer said.

"Not so much the move on the rate but what the rhetoric is in the statement."

He said the domestic currency may trade between 106.45 US cents and 107.20 US cents for the remainder of the local session today.

Since 7am the local unit traded between 106.68 US cents and 107.17 cents.

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Melb wall collapse kills two pedestrians

TWO people have been killed and a third seriously injured when a wall collapsed on pedestrians in a busy Melbourne street.

A man and a woman were walking past the vacant construction site when the wall fell and killed them, police say.

A second woman was injured and has been taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital.

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